Jim Broadbent Is Playing a Fantasy Professor on Game of Thrones, Which Is Honestly Not Much of a Stretch

As is typical for recent seasons of Game of Thrones, the news that veteran British actor Jim Broadbent had joined the cast was originally shrouded in mystery. He could have been playing anyone! A nurturing father figure for poor Arya, a fierce Dothraki warrior, Daenerys’s sexy older lover … really, anyone. But now, in an interview with Screencrush, Broadbent has spilled the beans: He’ll be playing a maester in Oldtown, appearing in several episodes opposite John Bradley’s Samwell Tarly, leading some fans to speculate he’ll be playing the show’s version of the books’ archmaester Marwyn. Okay, that’s pretty much exactly who everyone thought he was playing. Still, in this crazy world, it’s good to have something turn out as planned.